Old friends
by Onitsu Blackfeather
Summary: Miranda's just a friend, and sometimes you need other friends to vent and get advise about the friends you already have.


In the smoky rooms of the Slaughtered Lamb Miranda prepared to go onto stage. Since her untimely demise she'd been lucky to land this regular gig as a lounge singer. She downed the sludge of her drink and grimaced at the burning sensation. Neitherworld alcohol wasn't really alcohol nor was it made to get you drunk. It was made to hurt enough that you'd forget whatever you were worrying about that got you drinking in the first place. She sighed and lit up her cigarette. She adjusted the wax plugs she'd put into the bullet wounds in her chest and checked her appearance in the mirror behind the bar. The black death circles around her eyes made the red of her irises stand out. Her purple hair fell around her face in the regular style from the 1920's and she grinned showing flawless white teeth against her black painted lips. She readjusted her breasts and smoothed down the purple and white striped dress as she went to stand behind the curtain.

At the cue of the announcer she started out letting breasts and one leg go out very a'la Jessica Rabbit. She smiled seductively as she sang "Why don't you do right?" There were plenty of whoops and hollers at her as she walked down the strip. She pushed down a skeleton that was staring at her so slack jawed that his lower mandible actually fell to the floor and he had to try and scramble for it. She went on and walked down the table of a werewolf that was grinning at her. She ran her white gloved hand over his fir and itched behind his ear causing him to howl slightly and pant at her. She continued on and ran her hands over the shoulders of a ghoul sitting at the other side of the stage. She sat in his lap and grabbed his tie pulling him close as she finished her song and walked away to the ending strings of the song and vanished behind the curtain. Massive applause could be heard as she grinned and went down to her dressing room. She knew she had to get back on stage in a few more hours but decided to take it easy between sets.

A knock came from her door and she answered it to see the ghoul who's lap she sat in. She grinned and let him come in. "That was pretty hot there babes."

She laughed and plopped down next to him on the dusty couch. "Yeah well I saw it on a movie from the living realm and decided to give it a try here. Looks like it was a big hit."

He flashed her a molded smile and cackled. "No shit."

She gave him a wink and got to her feet. "Hey I got that thing you asked for."

His eyes lit up and he nearly bounced in his seat. "You DID?! Ohboy!ohboy!ohboy!"

She laughed and brought out the two flasks of dark rum she had 'acquired' and a rare black rose bush in a small pot.

"These are for you." She handed him the rum and he grinned wider.  
"And this is for your lady. I'm sure she'll like it." He jumped to his feet and hugged Miranda.

"You, are an ANGEL!" He gave her a big wet kiss and then began fawning over his new treasures. She laughed as she watched him.

He shook a bottle at her. "Share the first drink?"

She grinned. "Sure." She broke out a couple shot glasses and he filled them up with the spicy liquor. She swirled her glass and tinked his in cheers and downed it savoring the flavor of REAL alcohol. She looked at the bottom of her glass as he poured another for himself "So Bj when you gonna tell her how you feel?"

He finished his glass and looked at the shot as he poured another.  
"Dunno....it never seems like the right...time ya know?"

She nodded. "Yeah I understand that. She's what now? In her 20's?"

He sat back with his bottle and instead of using his glass this time took a long pull from it.

Miranda was one of the few people he really confided practically everything to...or at least the things he couldn't tell Lydia. She KNEW he was a VERY bad man. But didn't care about that. She accepted him in all of his homicidal glory. He couldn't talk to Lydia about Lydia but Miranda was always there to vent to or to help relieve stress with. He wiped his mouth and sighed throwing his molding head back. "She's almost 25 now."

Miranda smiled. "A quarter of a century. And you're what? Over 600 years dead?"

He nodded.

"She's alive, you're dead. And you're head over freakin' heels for her and a big softy on her part. You two are already married aren't you? Sure it resulted in you getting eaten by a Sandworm but hey, you proved to be WAY too tough for it to digest you."

He grunted. "Yeah, but because we didn't get to kiss it wasn't finalized. It went down to just a lower geas letting her summon me to the living realm and well...it's at the 'just friends' status. And don't let that get out about me being soft with her. It'll ruin my reputation."

She laughed. "I know better Betelgeuse." She then flipped over and straddled his lap and he looked up to only get an eye full of cleavage. "You're soft with me and I havent let anyone know about that yet. Have I?"

He smirked enjoying the view and putting a hand on her thigh. "Miranda feeling a bit Mi-randy?"

She snerked and hit him in the chest. "No I figured this was the best way to get your attention you letch."

He chuckled and took another drink. She pulled the bottle from his hand and took a pull her self. A trickle of amber liquid leaked out of the corner of her mouth and down her white skin to go down the valley of her dress clad breasts. She sighed as she handed him back the bottle. He flipped out his long striped green tongue and licked up the liquid. She laughed at the slimy feeling and grinned at him.

"Beej, she'll be one lucky girl and you need to tell her. If I remember the laws once you have that you -may-kiss-the-bride-kiss. Then you won't have to rely on her calling you to go over to the living world. We wont be able to have our craaaazy nights anymore but that's ok. We'll still be friends." She got a thoughtful expression though and gave him a wicked grin. "Or we could still have them if things get too boring with her. I mean she doesn't have to know and polyamoury is a norm here in the Neitherworld." She winked at him and grinned. He shot her a glare and she held up her hands in defense. "Kidding! I was kidding. Betel I know that you're a LOT more loyal then people give you credit for."

He nodded and sighed, his fingers touched the wax plugs that were covering the bullet wounds she'd had. "You shouldn't have to cover these you know." he murmured as he pulled out one of the plugs.

She looked down at them as he removed the wax and sighed. "It was for the show, I'm still a little sensitive of them."

He nodded. "You'll get used to it. You should never be ashamed of who you are."

She touched over his heart. "Like you got used to yours?"

He looked up at her crimson eyes with a sad expression and his lips twitched into a small frown. "Yeah."

She touched his cheek. "Betel you found a girl that you could love. Someone that could help fully heal the wound to your heart that brought you here. Don't make the mistake of losing her because you're scared."

He touched her hand that was on his chest and sighed. She was the only other person that had seen the blade wound that had been his undoing. He'd loved a woman so much while he was alive that he would do anything for her. But she spurned him for a wealthy captain and in his sorrow he plunged his dagger into his heart ending his life. And in doing so had gotten stuck pushing papers in the afterlife for the next several centuries. They wanted to make him a case worker but he refused every time so he stayed on as an 'assistant'. It had provided him with the opportunity to learn all of the loopholes of death,life, the afterlife and the like as well as learn everything and anything he could in the way of magic which had helped him become the 2nd most powerful specter in the Neitherworld underneath the royal line that Prince Vincent belonged to.

Miranda had been a good friend since they met after she'd died in the 1920's. Not to mention she got him free drinks when he came by. She knew he was a con man and could be a sleaze bag at times but she liked him for him. They'd been mostly friends with benefits, wild-crazy-monkey-lovin'-in-the-middle-of-the-night-benefits but still just friends. She gave him soft eyes and caressed his cheek. "You need to tell her how you feel before it's too late."

He put his head on her bosom and caressed her exposed thigh as he thought. Using her own cold flesh almost like a worry stone. "I'll tell her on her birthday. It's in two days I should be able to get up the balls to do it then."

She nodded and slipped off of his lap but not before giving him a hug and kissing his lichen riddled hairline. He got to his feet and put the bottles in his pockets as well as the Rose bush. She'd never get used to his bottomless pockets and smiled as he gave her a soft kiss to her cheek.

"Thanks for the pep talk babes."

She giggled slightly. "Go get her tiger."

He turned at the door and made claws with his hands and grinned "Rower!"

She laughed as the door clicked shut. She knew that Lydia loved him just as much as he did her. They'd be just fine he just had to suck it up and tell her. She grinned at the thought as she prepared for her next set.


End file.
